“If I hypnotize any of them, I have to make both of them want to win,” he says of his audience, which will include players from Arkansas State and Northern Illinois who will compete in the Sunday game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. If he shows any favoritism, he knows he might get chased down in the parking lot afterward.

Not that Kaz expects any trouble. “It’s just going to be a good time,” he says. “It kinda fits into what I would do in a college or corporate show.”

The show is a bit of an oddity for Kaz, a Mobile native who has been working to establish himself on the Gulf Coast since returning after honing his comedic hypnosis act for years in Las Vegas. (For more on his “Hypnaughty” show, visit www.thomkaz.com.)

On the one hand, given its relationship to a significant bowl game, it’s a high-profile gig. On the other, it’s essentially a private party intended mainly for the teams and university personnel in town for the game.

Still, it serves as a springboard into what Kaz thinks will be an exciting 2012. In particular he said he thinks it’s likely he’ll return to IP Casino in Biloxi. He performed in IP’s Chill Lounge regularly through summer of 2011.

“It seemed as if every week the show grew a little,” he says. “We did establish an audience, but it (also) seemed as if we were getting a lot of new people. ... People were coming back and bringing their friends.”

Other strong possibilities for the year include a February booking at a historic New Orleans venue, soon to be announced, and a possible 50-city national tour. Kaz says success is ultimately a matter of meeting a demand he feels is out there.

“I think people are starving for unique entertainment,” he says.

Lawrence F. Specker is the Press-Register’s entertainment reporter. He can be reached by phone at 251-219-5606; by e-mail as lspecker@press-register.com; by fax at 251-219-5799. Twitter: PressRegisterBW, BWJustCoasting. Mail notices of upcoming events to him at the Press-Register, P.O. Box 2488, Mobile, AL 36652.